Chapter Eighty Seven: Pray

So give me something
Please God, give me something
Give me something
I can believe in

Emelie Sande - Give Me Something

The blinds in the breakroom of the Intelligence Unit had drawn to give Gabe O'Neill some privacy or at least that's what they told him. The real reason he thought was so that he couldn't see the progression of their case. Gabe bowed his head, his hands clasped together as if in prayer as he sat at the circular wooden table, his knee jangling up and down with nerves. He'd been like this ever since he'd found out that Maggie was had been taken, he'd seen the damage to her car and he knew something had gone horribly wrong in his world. The fact she'd been taken was a good thing they told him, it meant that the person who had abducted her wanted to keep her alive. For what purpose they weren't sure but Gabe thought he had an idea, the only reason someone would take both of them was leverage.

The door to the breakroom opened and Gabe's head jerked up, his cobalt blue eyes focusing on Kim Burgess as she stepped inside of the door, both her hands filled with cardboard take out cups of fresh coffee from the coffee shop across the street. Her glossy brown hair was tied back into a sleek ponytail, the way it always was when she went into cop mode as she called it. The style looked good on her, it made her gave her an elegant, bad ass look, one that he had come to admire over the past few months when she'd been teaching self defense classes for him at the community center. She placed one of the cups in front of him before taking the chair beside him and peeling the lid from the top of her own.

"I didn't realise you'd made the move to Intelligence." Gabe said finally, removing his own plastic lid before raising the cup to his lips and taking a sip from it.

Perfect.

It had just the right amount of sugar and cream, the perfect Italian coffee. He inhaled that divine scent, feeling his nerves beginning to simmer as he took another gulp. It reminded him how thoughtful she was, how much she cared about people, it was one of the things that he cherished about her.

"They needed help last week when Antonio was doing some work for Stone." Kim informed him, clasping her hands around her takeout cup."And they need help again now."

"I'm glad you're here." Gabe admitted, before rubbing his hands over his weary features. "I don't know how this happened. I should have walked her to her car..."

His voice was cracking and it broke Kim's heart into a million pieces. She reached out, her hand coming to rest upon his in a show of support. Gabe clasped it tightly and once again he felt that familiar thrum ignite in his body as it always did with her. It was like a narcotic soothing over the torrid emotions that hurtled around inside if him. He could think again when she was with him, she gave him hope.

"If you had..." Kim trailed off regressing into her own thoughts. The image of Gabe lying there, broken and bleeding in the snow haunted her, she couldn't stand the thought of not having him in her life.

They had become good friends over the past few months and he had supported her when she'd needed guidance over her injury. She had never told anyone else that she was considering leaving the force after she had been shot, not even Adam. There was always that expectation that she would get better and jump back on the horse.

People never talked about the mental effect being shot had on you. In the aftermath she'd flinched at the sound of sudden noises, her dreams were full of dread as she rapped her knuckles on the surface of a million doors waiting for that gunshot to come once more. She still remembered the noise more than anything. A resounding crack exploding through the air as something molten hot smashed into her at such force she fell backwards. She didn't remember anything after that, only the sensation of falling.

The thought of coming back to the job had scared her more than she cared to admit. The attack had been so random and she'd found it hard to make sense of it during the time she spent away on medical. Her inability do much with that arm rendered her useless and she knew she was becoming depressed so when Maggie had casually mentioned that her brother needed help with one of his projects Kim had rallied at the thought. She needed to get out of the house and it was a way that she could still serve the community even though part of her was incapacitated.

She'd met Gabe before but she had never worked alongside him until that day. His programs were all inclusive so he'd put her to work with some of the other volunteers repainting some of the walls in the church hall. From there she'd moved onto other projects, busying herself with kids afterschool clubs, helping out with arts and crafts which in turn helped with her mobility while she underwent her rehabilitation for her left shoulder. Her world become sunny again and she found herself laughing a lot more beside the man who had swiftly become one of her friends. It was one of those nights, when she'd been helping out with some of the kid's bird houses for the community garden that she had told Gabe she may not return to work. Physically, her prognosis was good but mentally she hadn't been ready.

They'd talked it out that night. She'd never forget the way he stood there in the small church kitchen weighing up whether to cook her macaroni cheese or microwave popcorn that they used for the kids club. Their options had been limited but Kim hadn't cared, she was seeing a new side to this man and she liked it. Gabe made everything so easy, together they had shared a bowl of sweet microwaved popcorn and talked out every single one of her reservations. At the end of the night a decision had been made and she'd gone back to work a couple of weeks later.

Her first day on the job had been harrowing, she had been so anxious about it she had barely slept the night before. She'd found herself standing outside the precinct caught in this strange moment of indecision, she couldn't step forward and she couldn't step back. Instead she had hovered in front of the steps, her heart racing. The sound of her phone pinging had brought her back to reality, she had smiled when she read the text from Gabe.

Take a deep breath. You've got this, it had read.

Knowing that someone had that belief in her had given her the strength to take that step forward and conquer the fear that had lurked in the pit of her stomach.

"I don't know what to do." Gabe's voice penetrated her reverie. He was stricken, she could tell from his blanched pallor and the dark circles under his eyes. Kim laced her fingers in his, hoping to generate some comfort as she spoke.

"Pray for them." she told him kindly. "And pray that we find them."

Hi guys, this is the first chapter that we get a little more insight into Gabe, especially his relationship with Kim and how that seems to have grown over the past few months.

Anime: lol I make no promises on the Antonio, Maggie or Kayla front, there's heartbreak for at least one of them so you'll have to wait and see. I thought it would be too cruel having them spend ages not realizing that Mags and Antonio had disappeared. You'll have to wait and see what the bad guy has in store for them. Thank you so much for such a fab review!

Nat: I think everyone is getting worried for everyone else at the moment, I don't think you'll have to wait long to see what's happening to the both of them!

Lauren: I had to show how they all worked together, to be honest I thought it would be a lot harder than it was with so many people involved but it worked out well. You'll have to wait and see on Kayla!

Soccer: Thanks so much for a great review, time is ticking for both of them, let's see if they make it out alive.